Alexander Dvorkin

Alexander Dvorkin Alexander Leonidovich Dvorkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Леони́дович Дво́ркин; born 20 August, 1955 in Moscow) is a Russian anti-cult activist. From 1999 to 2012 he was professor and head of the department of the study of new religious movements (defamed as "cults") at Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University. He is currently professor of department of missiology at that university. Quotes When I lived in the USSR, I spoke against Soviet totalitarianism. Then, I started to fight cult totalitarianism. I did not seek FECRIS membership—it was Friedrich Griess who convinced me to enter the Federation. I suppose that it did make sense back then. Back then, FECRIS was different, and the great founding members were free people, valuing democracy and great European culture. Unfortunately, they are gone now and replaced by quite a different crowd.Your letter convincingly proves that now FECRIS is dead. It betrayed the ideals and goals of its creators. Now it is run by cowards and racists.I also accuse FECRIS! I accuse it of an anti-Russian ideological decision based not on justice or truth, but on purely racist sentiment! I have been accused and kicked out of FECRIS without any evidence, just because I am Russian. As quoted in "When Dvorkin Called FECRIS “Cowards and Racists”" by Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter (April 11, 2025) Quotes about Dvorkin He created considerable problems in the relationships between Russia and India by attacking the “Bhagavad-Gita” as an “extremist” book and stating that “We won’t be mistaken if we say that, from the Orthodox viewpoint, Krishna is one of the demons.”He called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, “a coarse neo-Pagan occult cult with fairly serious totalitarian tendencies.”As for the Prophet of Islam, Dvorkin did not spare his insulting criticism either. Willy Fautré, "With a Little Help from My Serbian Friends: FECRIS Caught Again Cooperating with Putin’s Sidekicks", Bitter Winter (August 13, 2025) While known for his contempt for the United States, Dvorkin offers a pop-psychology model in “The Call of Shambhala” to identify dangerous “cults,” one that imitates those of Steven Hassan and other American anti-cultists. We learn that the most dangerous “cults” share “five traits: deception during recruitment, manipulation of members’ minds, regulation of all aspects of their lives—that is, totalitarianism—exploitation of members, and the deification of the leader or the organization.” Of course, a malevolent observer may find these traits in several religions, including the Russian Orthodox Church. Rosita Šorytė, "The Rudnev Series: 9. Manufacturing Monsters: Russian Media and the Rudnev Case", Bitter Winter (August 5, 2026) External links Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Activists from Russia Category:Academics from Russia